After a plane crash sees a group of seven teens washed up on a desert island, their first thought is survival. But a terrible secret from a party the night before has followed them ashore. Facing deadly threats and the fear of being stranded forever, they quickly discover that being the most popular kid in High School doesn’t help when you’re fighting to stay alive. As the island deals each of them a dangerous blow, it’s clear that someone is looking for justice. Now survival depends on facing the truth about that party: who was hurt that night, and who let it happen?
The Trial mixes a few things - a survival story, a mystery, some revenge and some feminist debate near the end. It's a tribute to Laura's skills that these are almost perfectly balanced and occur naturally in the story.
Unlike most stories of this type, this one focuses heavily on the day to day grind of survival in this kind of situation. Most stories gloss over the need for food and water, for shelter, and there's a ring of truth about this one showing the work that goes into simple eating. The mystery of who's hurting people lies under it all, simmering away and occasionally erupting in violence.
However, I did think everyone was very casual about someone hurting them. The first injury could have been an accident, but by the second one they knew for sure something was happening and they just - kept on as normal. No mention of pairing off to keep safe, no staying on guard, nothing. That part seemed strange to me, but by then they were half starved and tramuatised so maybe it just didn't occur to them. And none of the accidents had been deadly up to then.
I also wish there'd been more at the end, but I always wish for more at the end, so that's not really an indicator! I did love that on the island, some of the character roles were reversed - the jock, used to being in charge, wasn't the best leader, and the queen bee cheerleader wasn't the best anymore either. It's a great illustration that the roles we play in school aren't an indicator of how our lives will go.
Overall I enjoyed this quick, exciting read, and I'm looking out for more from Laura in future.
The Trial publishes on the 16th of September, 2021. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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